Polyphenols as epigenetic modulators in treating or preventing of cancers

Abstract

People around the world relied on traditional herbal remedies to help the diseases which are difficult to cure. Phytochemicals extracted from these remedies have been recently used as effective agents in modern medicines through drug development. Many researchers have conducted extensive studies to determine the molecular mechanisms of plant phytochemicals. Meanwhile, the study of epigenetic changes resulting from the use of these substances has received considerable scientific attention and has led to the publication of thousands of articles. Due to the large number of papers published in this field, this article reviews the role of phytochemicals in the epigenetic modulation of some cancers, in articles between 2000 and 2021 using keywords such as cancer, DNA methylation, histone acetylation, and miRNA. It has been demonstrated that certain phytochemicals are involved in modulating miRNA expression, altering the DNA methylation, and remodeling of chromatin, and by suppressing cell proliferation, invasion, angiogenesis and metastasis, as well as inducing apoptosis and other cell death pathways, they cause cancer treatment or prevention. The review of several articles has shown that an important group of phytochemicals that have received the most attention of researchers are polyphenols. By considering various Properties of dietary phytochemicals, they can be used for treatment or prevention of different types of cancer.